“Sketchbook” draws attention to Disney's animation artists

“Sketchbook” draws attention to Disney's animation artists

If you've ever dreamed of sitting down with a master animator to find out how they created the magic that was a part of your childhood, Sketchbook, the new Disney + limited series, will seem a lot like wish fulfillment.

Previewed today, the series examines the world of traditional hand-drawn animation through the eyes of the artists who create it. The series focuses on the techniques and personal lives of six artists who have made a huge contribution to the world of animation:

Famed animator and director Eric Goldberg draws The Genie from Aladdin and discusses collaboration with Robin Williams. Hyun-Min Lee draws Olaf from Frozen. Encanto artists Samantha Vilfort and Gaby Capili draw Mirabel from Disney's latest Oscar-winning film and Kuzco from The Emperor's New Groove, respectively. Animator Mark Henn draws Simba from The Lion King and visual development artist Jin Kim draws Captain Hook from Peter Pan. In short, it's all 2D animation lover's paradise.

Each episode focuses on one of the animators, their story and inspiration, and how they view animation.

The series is scheduled just before the 2th anniversary of 2023D animation at Disney, which will take place in XNUMX.

The producers of the series are Walt Disney Animation Studios with executive producer Amy Astley leading the project and the producers who brought us Chef's Table, Jason Sterman, David Gelb and Brian McGinn.

Sterman, Leanne Dare and Andrew McAllister directed the episodes.

“When I was a kid in the 50s, early 60s, drawing on the camera was a big deal,” says Goldberg. “We had a children's TV host in Philadelphia named Gene London who drew on a large drawing board. That was the show. And before that, Winsor McCay, you know, was drawing live on stage.

That was a vaudeville act. So, I feel like it's all part of a continuum.

But I think the thing that really struck me about the series and its core is that anyone can draw and anyone can have fun drawing. You know, I often think it's fascinating that humans are the only animals forced to leave a mark on a piece of paper - there are no other creatures on the planet that do. And therefore, it is natural for everyone ”.

The series shows how many artists have come to animation through their life experiences. Everyone comes from a very different place, but everyone came to Disney with their own way of seeing the art form. The characters they chose to draw for the series have unique meanings for each animator.

“I grew up in a big family,” says Capili. “There were a lot of guys. I was one of maybe four girls, five girls, and Disney was a big thing in our family. My family is from California, so my dad, aunts and uncles have been back and forth to Disneyland ever since they were kids, ever since Disneyland opened. So, they took us, and it was something like, pick a princess and that's the princess you are. One of my cousins ​​was Cinderella and one of my cousins ​​was Mulan. And I've never had a princess because, actually I didn't, I was a very tomboy kid. Now I know I was a gender non-conforming homosexual boy. We didn't have that language at the time. So, I didn't relate until Kuzco.

“There have been jokes about how to be a princess, you have to have a villain after you. You have to get trapped. You must be saved by a man. You must be in mortal danger. And Kuzco fits all of those. If he examines them, Kuzco adapts to every single point, ”explains Capili. “So, there was something about him. And that was the first Disney movie I saw in the cinema. I was dropped from school to go see it for my birthday. So, Kuzco is so special to me. I've seen that movie a million times, I can quote it line by line. When they asked me to do Sketchbook, I immediately understood that I wanted to do Kuzco ”.

The series has a very simple style that focuses on the artist at the desk while drawing and each animator fills in the background of his or her approach to drawing. Sometimes it's an unusual place for them, having disappeared behind their characters for so long.

“I think another thing I hope audiences get is the human aspect of the things that underpin all of our films and all the characters and everything,” says Lee. “I think I also mentioned in the episode: where I feel like I've done my best work is when people forget that I exist behind the characters. When they believe and love the characters for themselves. But I also think because there are so many things that are fast and digital and we take it for granted these days, I think it's also a wonderful way to show that there are only the people behind these things. "

Lee points out that this is the simple pencil line and pencil stroke. “It doesn't take anything that outrageous for these things to come out of nowhere,” he notes. It's just a simple pencil stroke that can start it. I have an 18 month old daughter right now and she is just starting to pick up a pencil and she only draws little lines but she still loves it. And I'd like to think that people who watch it can remember that you don't have to do much, just do what you want and put it on the page. Sometimes, just the beginning can turn into a character, or moment, or movie, or dream - or even, for you, just releasing all the stress of the day. It is enough to let people know that it is freedom, the human aspect and the love that underlies all this ".

One of the wonderful things about the documentary is that it's giving viewers hope that Disney will return to its 2D animation roots. As Goldberg recently told IndieWire, “I've been campaigning for a long time to train people in [hand-drawn] animation, and as CG movies have become more and more popular, that idea has become less and less. important for the study. But now we have an atmosphere and a group of people who recognize that it's part of the legacy here, and actually having content that requires hand-drawn animation is absolutely fantastic. Thank goodness we have people who can do both here, but really making a commitment to form a new generation is a wonderful thing and I think perfectly appropriate for [us].

Sketchbook is now streaming on Disney +.

Go to the source of the article on www.animationmagazine.net